


Holidays Are For Family

by Listentothelittlebird



Series: Code Bat [15]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Batman and the Signal (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Batfamily (DCU), Duke is still trying to fit into the Batfam, Gen, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!, Jason Todd is a good brother, Not Canon Compliant, Timeline What Timeline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27711550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Listentothelittlebird/pseuds/Listentothelittlebird
Summary: Jason had been spending the past few years away from home during Thanksgiving, so that his teammates would not be alone.Now that they each had found their own places at the table, Jason could return home. He ends up reassuring their newest addition to the family.
Relationships: Artemis of Bana-Mighdall & Jason Todd, Duke Thomas & Jason Todd
Series: Code Bat [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964452
Comments: 34
Kudos: 498





	Holidays Are For Family

“You will be fine?”

Jason huffed in faked annoyance, rolling his eyes at Artemis, “ _Yes_ , Art. Go enjoy the next two weeks with Diana,” he made grabby hands at her phone, the brick that she still had some trouble using, “Say yes or I’ll do it myself.”

Artemis frowned at him, and pulled her phone closer to her chest. Jason smirked at that - he was happy that his sleight of hand was good enough to make even the Amazonian worry.

“C’mon, Arty! What the hell’s stopping you?” Jason groaned, “There’s literally no reason for you to decline. You always said you wanted to explore Themyscira. And you love thanksgiving turkey - there'll be no shortage of that, wherever Diana’s taking you. I heard she loves festivities.”

They had spent thanksgiving together once, the three of them. Between them, Biz and Artemis finished a whole turkey. That was a few years ago, Jason realised. 

Jason had taken to spending the holiday with Artemis, since she did not feel the need to visit her tribe on the day. Bizarro spent the day at the Kents, and while the two of them had open invitations, they always declined.

Now, Artemis had finally started to communicate with Wonder Woman, and the two had quickly become close allies. Artemis had even referred to her as her sister, like she did with her own tribe.

Artemis paused, and Jason waited for her to piece together the truth.

“The Titans are having a gathering. Roy and Kori will not be here,” Artemis gestured to their base, “And what of you? Will you spend the day alone?”

Ah. So that was what was bothering her.

“Far from it, Arty,” Jason assured. He smiled fondly then - he was not thinking about what he would do for the holiday, but if nobody was going to be around the base, then he could go home. 

He should tell Alfred. There was no way he was letting the butler do all the thanksgiving prep by himself, if he was going to be in Gotham.

“Who will you be with?” Jason blinked back into the conversation, and noted the warrior’s confused frown, “I can’t think of anyone else.”

“It’s not anyone you know,” Jason agreed, “Remember that time I went uncontactable for nearly a year? I had some family things to deal with. The reason I dropped comms was so that my family didn’t get wrapped up in any Outlaws business.”

Artemis gave a thoughtful hum. “I had assumed you were a lone traveller,” Artemis stated, “I’ve seen men without anything else but the clothes on their back. That was who you looked like.”

Jason shrugged, “I can handle myself, for sure. Every once in a while, though, it doesn’t hurt to have a family to fall back on. They’re there for you, when you need them most.”

He steered the conversation away from his own life, “That’s why I was happy to let Biz stay with Superman, you know? Big guy needed someone to call his family. We’re his family too, I’m not saying that we aren’t, but it’s different when you’re teammates. He needed a family outside of the mission.”

Jason eyed Artemis with a smile, “And it’s also why you should spend the next week or two leading up to thanksgiving with Diana. I know it’s not the same anymore when you head back to your home tribe. The holiday’s for family, and if you see Wonder Woman and her sisters as yours, that’s just fine.”

He thought of Cass. Maybe if he called in ahead, she’d arrange to come back for a week or two. It’d be nice to see the whole family.

Artemis regarded Jason, then nodded once. She typed purposefully but slowly into her flip phone, and pocketed the small device. “I’ll be leaving in the next few days,” she confirmed.

Jason smirked, gave a thumbs up, and excused himself to his bedroom. He flopped onto his bed and flicked on his comms. It was nighttime in Gotham.

“-arro is joining the Kents for thanksgiving, again. I declined Kon’s invitation - it’s not that I’m wary of their newest brother, I just think he needs proper holiday time with his family before being introduced to any friends of his siblings,” Tim’s voice trailed into Jason’s ear. 

Jason grinned and butt into the conversation, “Well, thanks for clarifying, Double R. If you had been trash-talking the big guy, you’d have gotten it from me at thanksgiving dinner.”

Tim huffed, before his brain caught up with Jason’s words. “You’ll be coming back for thanksgiving?” Tim’s elation was bright and clear even through the faint static, “Double B will be there, too!”

“And with R and B at home, that’s all of us!” Dick chirped happily, “It’s the first thanksgiving Signal will have with us. Heck, I gotta decline my Titans gathering, now. There’s no way I’m missing out on this.”

“Totally not suspicious that we’re all not going to be found on the day by our teammates,” Jason commented dryly, but he was smiling.

~

Duke was pretty happy to be part of the Bats, officially. He still had yet to form an opinion on Bruce fostering him, but that was a completely different ball game altogether. Being a Bat was somehow less complicated.

What was unexpected, however, was the number of Bats - were they really all his siblings? - there were.

He had already known Bruce Wayne was Batman, because who else could be Batman? (Tim had high-fived him, for some reason.) He had known Robin was real, more than a myth, because of the brief flashes of colour he would see whenever he was out late searching for his parents. 

He just never knew how many Robins there had been. He had no idea it was a rotating mantle.

Couple that with the realisation that some of the best non-powered vigilantes the world knew were ex-Robins, and Duke felt kind of out of place. He was a meta. He shouldn’t be here.

“B went to pick up Cass, just so you know.”

Duke jolted and spun around to face Jason Peter Todd, the dead man walking, leaning casually against the doorframe to Duke’s room. Duke flushed at the realisation that the man had made it to his current position without Duke noticing.

“Ah, c’mon,” Jason grinned easily, a kind but sharp smile that Duke had come to appreciate in his delinquent days, “I can practically hear you scolding yourself. It takes practice to get used to Bat stealth.” Jason glanced around, and leant forward to whisper, “I still get jumped by Cass. All. The. Time.”

Duke laughed then, and it felt weird to be in such a domestic setting with the Red Hood himself. Then again, once Duke coupled Jason’s public identity with his Gotham reputation as the Alley Bat, Duke could see why he was comfortable around the man.

Duke knew the gossip of the streets. The Alley Bat was terrifying, but only to those who deserved it. To everyone else, he was a rumbling voice of the street, one of them protecting his own.

“What’re you doing?” Jason questioned curiously. He stayed at the threshold, craning his neck as if to look over Duke’s shoulder at what was on his desk, even from afar. Who knew, maybe he really could see that far.

Duke gestured for Jason to come in. He had learnt that it was an unspoken rule between all of them, to have proper permission before entering someone’s bedroom. The only exception was Bruce, and the only bedroom with an exception was Bruce’s room. Duke only knew that last part from the number of times someone had emerged from Bruce’s bedroom in the morning, either lonely or seeking comfort from nightmares.

Duke had yet to do that himself - he needed more time.

“I do journalling,” Duke shrugged, as Jason skimmed the page that was more code than actual English, “I have my own system. I used to do it to keep people from reading riddles I came up with, then I figured that I should code anything about me searching for my parents, and it just became a habit.”

Jason hummed, and he looked impressed. Jason was next to Steph in expressiveness, which Duke suspected was because he usually made faces from under his helmet. He still had a terrifying stone face, though.

“I…” Duke started, stopped, and then rushed it all out at Jason’s encouraging nod, “You sure Bruce is fine with me being here? I mean, not just that, but like, me knowing all that I know? Code Bat is a really big deal. Also the fact that I’m a meta. I mean, I had no idea I was a meta when we first started training-“

“Duke,” Jason cut in, and Duke clamped his mouth shut. Jason sighed and ran a hand through his hair, his white lock falling back over his eyes. He pursed his lips, before clamping a hand on Duke’s shoulder.

“Bruce is a lot of things, but he isn’t a quitter,” Jason started, “Just look at all of us. The moment he found us, he just couldn’t let us go. Heck, do you know how he found me? I was stealing tyres off the Batmobile.”

Duke’s eyes widened, and Jason smirked, “Heh. We need to sit you down and tell you all those stories.” Jason returned to a solemn frown, “I know you might not believe it right now, but we’re a family first, and superheroes second. Bruce bringing you here to train you? It’s his way of saying you have a place here. The fostering paperwork isn’t just for show.”

Duke was silent for a moment, before giving a slow, hesitant nod. Down the corridor, Dick’s voice trailed towards them, a jubilant cry of “Cass!” and a thump that implied a full-body tackle.

“Looks like she’s home,” Jason smiled, and Duke was surprised at how warm he sounded, how fond he looked as he gazed out of the room. Duke felt like Jason was showing this side of him on purpose - he found that the man usually hid his real emotions about his family behind snark and morbid humour.

“I’ll leave you alone, now. Head down when you’re ready. If you take too long, I’ll be coming back to drag your sorry ass down the stairs,” Jason threatened, no real bite to his voice. He gave a backwards wave as he sauntered out, his voice soon blending into the chaos outside the door.

Duke never had siblings before. The people unfortunate enough to have lived with him in the same foster homes were nothing but strangers. These people, though... he thinks he could live with them. 

Duke breathed, kept away his journal, and stood up to join the Waynes.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy (early by one or two days) Thanksgiving! (Did Google give me the right date? I don’t celebrate the holiday myself :P)
> 
> The Code Bat series is starting to have a timeline of its own, and I dug through faqs to learn how to do this:
> 
> Jason referenced a time when he went uncontactable for nearly a year - he’s talking about his radio silence during [ Gotham Needs A Batman ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26928556)
> 
> Duke referenced Jason’s nickname on Gotham’s streets, which was built upon in [ The Alley Bat ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27058936/chapters/66064498)
> 
> Wheeeeeee


End file.
